


Christmas Shopping

by keylimepie



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Fluff, Happy, M/M, Post-Season/Series 13 AU, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 16:34:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21881386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keylimepie/pseuds/keylimepie
Summary: Gabriel needs a favor and stops by the bunker. Sam is happy to help, even as he tries to sort out his confusing feelings for the flighty archangel amidst the hustle and bustle of the mall at Christmastime.
Relationships: Gabriel/Sam Winchester
Comments: 6
Kudos: 64





	Christmas Shopping

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Vesper_Amil](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vesper_Amil/gifts).



> This is my Sabriel Secret Santa submission (say that five times fast!) for Vesper! Happy Holidays!!!
> 
> Beta'd by my eldest offspring, who pretends not to know me on the internet and thus is not getting tagged.

Sam was deep in the storage room photographing magical items for his spreadsheet when he heard the whoosh of celestial wings. “Jack?” he asked tentatively. Jack had gone out with Dean to help settle some of the hunters in an old safe house somewhere in the Catskills, but perhaps he’d been sent back for something? Sam stood up and brushed the dust from his pants. 

There was another flapping sound and a gentle breeze, wings adjusting and folding themselves back in, and a more human-sounding rustling of clothing. “He- hello?” Sam tried again. 

“I must be getting rusty. Was gonna sneak up on you and yell ‘boo’ but I guess I haven’t stretched the ol’ feathers in too long,” came the reply. 

“Gabriel,” Sam said with a grin. “Yeah, actually... I’m glad you didn’t do that.” 

“True, wasn’t thinking. Wouldn't want to upset you, kiddo.” 

Sam snorted. “I don’t want to end up stabbing you. Not after I went through all the trouble of saving you from a stabbing a few months ago.” He approached the worktable and sat on the edge of it, studying the archangel. “How’s it going? Not getting into any trouble these days, I hope?” The words, “I’ve missed you,” almost slipped out, but Sam kept them in check. Of course he’d missed Gabriel all those years that he’d been thought dead, but knowing that he was alive, that he was out there somewhere and considered himself a friend of the Winchesters and still didn’t stop by, was a different kind of missing, one that he hadn’t let himself think about too deeply. 

“Noooo, honest, cross my heart, not into any new shenanigans. Nothing terrible. Nothing that you’d have to heartily disapprove of. Just a little this and that. I told you, after you pulled me from Michael’s clutches and yeeted me through the rift, I’m not getting embroiled in any further crap of anyone’s.” 

“Well, good,” Sam said. “If you stopped by to see Cas and Jack, I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed. They’re both out on missions.” 

“Oh well that’s a relief. No, I don’t mean- It’s not that I don’t want to see them, it’s just that… I actually wanted to catch you alone.” 

Sam laughed nervously. “Gabe, what’s- why would..” he flushed and looked away. 

“I need your help, Sam. Grab your coat; we’re going shopping.” 

“What do you mean? - Whoa! Gabe, what the hell?” Sam exclaimed as he suddenly found himself standing in a side hallway of a shopping mall. He staggered a few steps and leaned against the wall. “Hey, you can’t just- just do that! You have to ask!” Sam sighed and shook his head. “You know what, just- why are we here?” 

“We are here to shop, Samster.” He spun on his heel and started towards the noise and lights of the main corridors of the mall, but just as quickly he spun back around to face Sam. “Just for the record, uh. I am sorry. About spooking you, and dragging you out here without your say so. That was not cool of me and I’ll try to do better.” With that, he spun around again and started marching toward the mall. “Come on, time’s a wastin!” he called back towards Sam without even looking. After a stunned moment, Sam began to follow. 

It didn’t take him long to catch up, and before he knew it, he found himself following Gabriel into a trendy men’s clothing shop. “I just don’t understand why you’d want me to help you pick out clothes,” Sam said. “I’m not exactly the snappiest dresser. You, you look great. I mean, you dress great. I like your…” he trailed off, his face growing hot. 

“We’re not shopping for me. I need you to help me pick out a gift for Jack.” He picked up a shirt from a rack, a blue tie-dyed one with long sleeves and a logo on the chest. He held it up to himself and looked down. “Eh? Eh.” He tossed it back on the the rack and made a sour face. 

“Oh,” Sam said. “A gift for Jack? And you want my help?” 

“Yeah, you know him pretty well. And I thought you would be willing to help me. You always come through, you know?” He jammed his hands in his pocket and looked up at Sam. Sam gave him a little smile and nodded his head just a little. 

“Okay, let’s shop,” he said after a moment. “Maybe not in here. This stuff is okay, but clothes are… well not a bad gift exactly, but not very exciting. Especially when you’re a kid. C’mon, let’s try another store.” He strolled out of the store and continued down the main concourse of the mall. 

“Stuff a stuffie?” Gabriel asked. “Do you think he likes teddy bears?” 

Sam made a face. “Not especially. Anyway, the stuffie store is more fun if you do it together with the person.” 

They walked along. Gabriel wandered into a shop filled with scented lotions and candles, but Sam just stood at the entrance sneezing. “I don’t think this is a good idea,” Sam called from the doorway, his eyes watering. 

“Oh man,” Gabriel winced in sympathy as he rejoined Sam at the doorway and they walked swiftly away. When Sam still didn’t stop sneezing and coughing, Gabriel snapped his fingers and banished the allergy symptoms. 

“Thanks,” Sam said, shaking his now-clear head. 

“Anytime, Sam. Yeah okay, so no massive doses of allergens. Hey, there’s a candy store over here!” Suddenly, Gabriel was power-walking diagonally across the hallway, dodging people, and then he ducked into a shop filled with elaborate displays of candy of every kind. Sam rolled his eyes and followed. 

“Are we still shopping for Jack?” he asked. “I don’t really think he needs a bunch of sugar.” 

“Oh come on, Sam! I know that Christmas candy is a thing. I gotta at least get him a candy cane and some chocolate bells.” He grabbed a shopping basket and started breezing around the store like a hummingbird, tossing packages of all sorts of candy into the basket. Sam just stood back by the door and watched him shop with fond amusement. When he’d finally brought his selections to the surprised cashier and was paying the total, Sam eyed up the two big bags nervously. 

“Most of that is for you, right?” he asked. 

“Some,” Gabriel shrugged. “Some for Jack. And this is for you.” As they walked out of the store, he reached a hand into the bag and pulled out a long wooden skewer filled with different colored marshmallow chicks, wrapped in iridescent cellophane and tied with a gold ribbon. “Just a little something sweet for a sweet guy,” he added. 

Sam took the confection and turned it around looking at it. “Thanks, Gabe,” he said. He could feel his cheeks flushing again, and suddenly he was too shy to look Gabriel in the face as he implication of the words hit him. “I really like it,” he added. “It’s cute, and I do like marshmallows.” He looked down at his shoes. “You should come around more often you know. Missed you. I’m glad you- this is nice, this shopping trip, being here with you, I-” 

“Soooo, this is an okay first date?” 

“Fir-first date?” Sam’s eyes widened. “Actually, you know what? No it’s not.” 

Gabriel’s shoulders slumped. “Sorry. Guess I read things wrong.” 

“No! No, it’s just… if we were on our first date, I would want to know ahead of time. Some surprises are nice, but a first date requires some degree of build-up, you know? And asking! If I were to go on a first date with someone, then someone better have asked someone out at some point.” 

Gabriel’s eyes darted from side to side as he tried to calculate this. After a long pause, he took a deep breath. “Sam. Would you like to go out with me sometime?” 

“Yes,” Sam said. “I’d love to.” 

“So… should we figure out where and when?” 

“We should probably finish this whole gift-buying excursion before we figure that out.” 

“Good point. Let’s move along.” The next shop was a bookstore, and this time it was Sam who made a giddy beeline for it. 

Gabriel followed him, chuckling. “You live in a library,” he pointed out. “You see books every day.” 

“I haven’t been in a bookstore, a normal bookstore, in ages and ages,” he said, picking up volumes from the recent bestsellers table and turning them over. “Oh, they even smell different.” 

“Oh, we gotta get you a few, then. Come on Sam, pick out something fun. Not occult related.” 

“Twist my arm,” Sam replied. He picked out a paperback sci-fi novel and a biography rather quickly, then lingered over another display before finally picking up a book about Marjory Kempe. 

“Yeesh,” Gabriel wrinkled his nose. “What a drama queen. Absolutely no fun at parties.” 

“You knew Marjory Kempe? Of course- of course you did,” Sam huffed a laugh and shook his head. 

“I’ll shut up,” Gabriel offered. “I won’t spoil your enjoyment of her book with my stories.” 

“I’d love to hear your stories. After I read it, maybe.” 

They walked toward one of the big department stores, silent, both deep in thought. Sam looked over at him. “I like your stories, you know. You’ve seen and done so much. And you’re interesting and funny. I never know what you’re going to say next and honestly I never know if half of what you’re telling is really true or you’re just trying to amuse me. But it works.” 

“I thought I was annoying you,” Gabriel said quietly. 

“Sometimes a little. Not in a bad way.” 

“I annoy you in a good way?” Gabriel squinted. 

“Shut up! Yes, okay.” Sam shook his head. They were standing in front of a display of Christmas tree decorations. A tree stretched toward the ceiling of the store, covered in all sorts of ornaments and lights. Gabriel was standing just in front of the tree, and Sam suddenly had the thought that he outshone everything else in the room. “God, I want to kiss you,” he blurted. 

Gabriel’s eyes widened, but he wasted no time in closing the distance between them. His hands landed on Sam’s shoulders as he stretched upward, as Sam cupped his face in his hands and leaned down. The first press of lips was gentle and sweet, and then after a hesitant moment, they both pressed in just a little more, just a little slide of lips, exciting and warm. Too aware of their surroundings, Sam pulled back then and glanced around, though they did not seem to have attracted any attention. 

“Wow,” Gabriel said. 

“Yeah,” Sam agreed. He reached for Gabriel’s hand, and their fingers interlaced. “Let’s finish this shopping and then we can figure out that date.” 

“Oh no it’s okay, I’ve decided,” Gabriel said. “I’m just going to give him the go-kart that I bought. Wasn’t sure what I was going to do with that, anyway.” 

Sam sighed. “I’m just going to pretend that you didn’t say that.” 

“‘Preciate that,” Gabriel said. “How about … dinner tomorrow night? Fiorella’s? Do you like Italian?” 

“Yeah, sure. Sounds nice.” 

Gabriel squeezed Sam’s hand. “May I fly you home now?” 

Sam nodded and squeezed back, and with a gentle whoosh they were back in the storage room of the bunker. Sam set his bags down on the table and turned back to Gabriel. 

“Hey, um. Can’t help but wonder… did you cook up this whole shopping thing just to spend time with me?” 

Gabriel shrugged. “Little bit. I did kinda want to get the kid something else, buuuut I also wanted to stroll around the mall with the hottest guy I could think of.” He reached a hand up and touched his fingertips to Sam’s cheek. “Never imagined it would work out so well.” 

Sam leaned close and brushed his nose against Gabriel’s. “Imagine if you’d just asked in the first place,” he whispered before leaning in for a kiss. Without the concern of a public audience, he let it go on a little longer before breaking it off. 

“See you tomorrow?” Gabriel said. 

“I’ll be waiting,” Sam agreed. He watched as Gabriel disappeared with a little rustle, and then he went back to his work with a happy sigh. 


End file.
